Container filling apparatus



Nov. 28, 1944. 4 5. DE HAVEN MILLER ,3

CONTAINER FILLING APPARATUS Filed June 5, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.Bmwe fie/Zzuen 11/562221 BY 1 85 M ATTORNEYS B. DE'HAVEN MILLER2,363,543

CONTAINER FILLING APPARATUS Filed June '5, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 .Bracugfieflamm'lkr ATTORNEYS Nov. 28, 1944 Nov. 28,1944. v B, DE HAVEN MILLER7 ,5

CONTAINER FILLING APPARATUS fl- .1a.

Filed June 5, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IIIIIIIIIIIIA lNvENToE flraaeDeHaoenMdIer ATTORNEYS for that purpose.

Patented- Nov. 1944 UNITED STATE Bruce-De Haven to The Girdler s PATENTOFF CONTAINER AiPAltATUS Miller, Louisville, Ky.-, assignor Corporation,

ICE

Louisville, Ky.. a

corporation of Delaware Application June 5, 1948, Serial No. 489,770

24 Claims.

The present invention relates to apparatus for filling liquids intobottles or other containers under vacuum, and more particularly to animproved design and construction of a filler valve Numerous forms ofapparatus for filling liquids into containers under vacuum are availableon the market or have been proposed, but none of those forms with whichI am familiar has proven entirely satisfactory in operation in thosecases in which it is essential to prevent air from leak-- ing into theapparatus and becoming incorporated in the liquid in the reservoir andvarious passages oi. the filling apparatus, and in the con- One oi thedisadvantages of this simple form of fillin pparatus'is due to the factthat it is practically impossible to maintain the proper degree ofvacuum in the apparatus. Furthermore, there results considerable wasteof the energy required in operating the evacuating mechanism. Anotherform of filling apparatus heretofor employed,

has included valve means manually operable first to connect thecontainer with the evacuating equipment, and then to close theevacuating passage and connect the container with the liquid supply.Examples oi this type are shown in Pat ents 712,832 to Moore, and1,232,105, 1,437,916 and 1,437,917 to Shelor: Modifications 01' thislast mentioned form have included valve mechanisms operativemechanically, sometimes by movement of the filling apparatus itself 'andsometimes by movement of the container, for first connecting thecontainer with the evacuating mechanism and then connecting it with theliquid supply. Examples of this type are shown in Patents 1,978,002 toWeaver; 619,474 to Fowler: 21 ,193,299 and 2,204,131 to Glunz; and732,678 to An important disadvantage or all the forms 0! fillingapparatus above mentioned results from the fact that they are incapableof automatically rejectin broken or defective bottles or containers.Thus it is necessary to depend up n an operator to detect such defectivecontainers and reicct them. Frequently itis impossible ior an operator46:. the reservoir and on a larger scale: one of the to detect quicklyany slight imperfections in a container. suchas small crackpr'irregularitles,

at the mouth of a bottle, and this frequently leads to filling ofdefective containers in such manner that undesirable amounts of air 1are introduced into the liquid in the containers or into the reservoirof the filling apparatus.

, Attempts have been made to provide filling apparatus capable oiautomatically. detecting and rejecting defective containers, as appearsfrom Patent 668,303 to Beyer and someof the patentspreviously'mentioned. None, of those with which I am familiar has beencapable of accomplishing such detection and rejection of defective con-'tainers without undue waste of energy of the evacuating mechanism andintroduction or undesirable amounts of air into the liquid reservoir andother parts of the filling apparatus.

An object of the present invention is to provide a filling apparatusincorporating an improved form 01' filler valve which is completelyautomatic in its operation: is capable of filling liquids into bottlesor containers iunder vacuum and to a definitely controlled level withoutpermitting any leaking in of air or aeration of the liquid, either inthe filling apparatus or container; does not have any oi'the other abovementioned objectionable features of previous forms of filling apparatus:and is capable of eliminating dripping after the filling operation iscompleted.

A further and .more particular object of the invention is toprovide animproved valve for vacuum filling apparatus, which is capable ofautomatically preventing the filling of broken or defective containers;does it in such manner as to conserve the energy 01' the evacuatingequipment;

prevents the passage of air through the liquid in the reservoir andvarious passages of the filling apparatus; and prevents introduction ofany substantial amount of air into the reservoir of the fillingapparatus above the liquid level.

Other objects and details of my invention will become apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with th accompanyingdrawings, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a bottlingmachine embodying my, invention and showing in side elevation certainfeatures thereof:

,/"'Fig. 2 1sa central vertical section of a portion filling tubes beingshown in side elevation;

Fig, 3' is a central vertical section of one of the filling tubes on astill larger scale; the middle portion of the tube being omitted and theparts bein shown in the positions they occupy when there is no containerin the filling position;

, Fig. 3a is an enlargement oia portion of Fig. 3-,

eration;

tively of Fig. 3;

Fig. is a perspective view of the outer of the two tubes-oi the nozzle;

Fig. 16 is a central vertical section through a modified form of fillingapparatus embodying my invention;

Fig. 17 is a section on the line i'l-l'l of Fig. 16,

and

Fig. 18 shows further modification of the upper I part of the form shownin Fi 16.

Although the apparatus of my invention may be employed to advantage inthe filling of various kinds of liquids into bottles or containers, itis particularly advantageous for the filling of butties with milk whichhas been deaerated to a very highdegree, such as, for example, milkwhich has been treated by a process and-apparatus such as shown anddescribed in applications Serial No. 438.216 and Serial No. 439,836 ofPa'ulF. Sharp, David B. Hand and Edward S.- Guthrie; which applicationsare assigned to Cornell Research Foundation. Hence, the invention willbe described herein as embodied in a vacuum filling apparatus for milk,although it is to be understood that it is not intended thereby to limitthe invention to milk flll'ing apparatus.

For purposes of illustration, my improved filler valve is shown asembodied in a milk filling apparatus of more or less conventional form,and only suiflcient details of the general construction of thisapparatus will be included herein to insure,

proper understanding of my invention.

As shown in Fig. 2, the reservoir of the apparatus is comprised of atank 20 having a dome shaped cover 2| with a gasket 22 for sealing theJoint between the tank and cover. During operation of the fillingapparatus, the cover is held in sealing relation to the tank .by the.vacuum maintained in the reservoir. If itis desired to .provideadditional insurance against misplacement of the cover and againstleakage at the joint betweenthe cover and tank, any suitable clampingmeans may be provided. As is customary with apparatus of the form shown,the tank 20 is supported for rotation on a pedestal (see Fig. 1) boltedto a plate 23 welded or otherwise secured on the bottom of the tank,

For introduction or milk into the reservoir,

' there is provided -a vertically extending stationary tube 24, whichextends to a point adjacent the bottom of the reservoir. The upper partof 1 this tube extends concentrically through a stationary. T-shapedconnection 25, and is held in place by means of a flange 26 which iswelded on the tube and clamped between a clamping nut 21 and the upperend of the T-shaped connection 25. A gasket 01' any suitable form andmaterial or other suitable means is provided for,

maintaining an air-tight seal. between flange 28 and the end of theconnection 25. The lateral of the T-shaped connection is provided with aclamping nut 35 for securing thereto the end of a pipe 3i leading to theevacuating mechanism, whereby a vacuum may beestablished and maintainedin the reservoir through the passage surrounding tube 24, and the joint.between pipe ll -and' connection is such as will prevent any loss ofvacuum at this point.

In order to permit rotation. of the reservoir, relative to thestationary tube 24 and connection 25, while at the same time insuringthe necessary air-tight seal around the. centrally located opening inthe cover 2|, there is provided a stationary sleeve sweated' orotherwise secured at its upper end in a recess in the lower end ofconnection 25. This sleeve projects down into the upper part of thereservoir and has a suitable packing 36 bearing against the outersurface thereof; said packing being carried by a sleeve 31 extendingthrough the opening in the cover and welded to the cover. Sleeve 31supports in its lower end a removable retainer ring for the lower end ofpacking 36, and the upper part of sleeve 31 is surrounded and,reenforced by a collar 42, which is welded at its lower end to the coverM. The upper end of collar 42 carries a packing gland 44, the pressureof which against the packing 35 is adjustable by means of a clamping nut45, which latter is secured by a lock nut 46. A thrust washer of wood orother suitable material is inserted. between the upper end of the gland44 and clamping .nut assembly 45 and the bottom and the'fioat is sodesigned that the surface of of an,apron 5| secured on the lower end ofstationary connection 25. From theabove it will be understood that anair-tight seal is maintained between the outer bearing surface of thestationary sleeve 35 on the one hand, and the bearing surfaces providedby the rotatable sleeve 4|, packing 36, and gland 44 on the other hand.

The supply of milk into the reservoir through the open lower end of thetube 52 is controlled by a float 53 having a central sleeve 54, which isslideable vertically onthe tube 24. This float is intended to maintainthe surface of the liquid in the reservoir approximately at the levelindicated at A. This level, of course, is dependent upon the degree ofvacuum maintained in the reservoir,

the liquid will not rise above the level B, even when a substantiallyperfect vacuum is established in the reservoir.

When the reservoir is filled to the proper level and the float is'in itsuppermost position, as shown in Fig. 2, a sealing element 55 carried bythe float, bears against and closes the lower end of the milk supplytube 24. This sealing element 55 may be constructed of rubber or othersuitable, relatively soft, resilient material, and is held in place inthe lower end of the sleeve '54 by suitable means such as a plug 56,retained by means of a hairpin-like clip 51 which engages slots 50 inthe lower end of tube 54', and slots in the plug as indicated in Figs. 2and 9. Clip 51 also serves to hold in place on the lower end of sleeve54, an inverted conical perforated screen 82, which has a reenforcingbearing washer 63 secured around and on the lower side of a centrallylocated opening in the strainer element. strainer element is held inengagement with a washer 84 secured on the-lower end of sleeve 54', butupon removal of clip 51, the strainer element may be removed downwardlyfrom sleeve 54.

When the liquid in the reservoiris below the desired level, float 53assumes a lowered position so as to permit milk to how downwardly out ofthe bott'omof tube 24 and thence laterally out through a plurality ofslots 58 (see Fig. 8). in

sleeve 54, and into the main body or milk in the reservoir through theperforations in strainer element 62.

If the float 53 were permitted to rotate with Normally, the

' rule 1i isa packing ring the reservoir 2! and the body of milk therethere would be an undesirable amount of wear on the closure element 55,due to rubbing against the -only one of these valves is shown in detailon Figs. 2 to 6 of the drawings, it will be understood that the desirednumber of such valves are disposedaround the bottom of the tank 20 atthe proper arcuate distances apart. as indicated on Fig. 1. which willbe referred to more in detail hereinafter.

Each of the valve assemblies is supported and guided by means or anouter stationary tube having a flanged ferrule" welded or otherwisesecured on the lower end thereof. When the valve assembly is insertedinto an opening provided therefor in the bottom of the tank 20, theflange of ferrule II is securely held in place by means of a clam ingnut 12.'which engages a screw-threaded nipple 13 secured in the openingin the bottom of the tank by welding or otherwise, a suitable gasketbeing inserted between the bottom of the nipple i8 and the ferruleflange.

This constitutes a conventional form of sanitary -Joint, and removal ofnut 12 permits ready withdrawal of the whole valve assembly from thereservoir, so as to permit disassembly and cleaning of the valve parts.

Within tube 10 there is disposed a ve t cally slidable tube 16. on thelower end of which is welded a nozzle 11 formed with a circumferentialflange 18 for a purpose hereinafter described. A sealing ring 80 ismouned on the nozzle 11 below flange 1B for engagement with the mouth of abottle or other container to be filled. This sealing ring is made ofrubber or other suitable material of suillcient softness and resilience,and the bottom thereof is conically shaped and provided with an annulargroove 8|. mouth of the bottle or other container is pressed againstring 00. an air-tight seal is insured, provided the rim of the bottle orcontainer does not have cracks or other defects such as would renderundesirable the use of the bottle or'container.

In order to prevent stagnation of milk in the crevices in the Jointbetween the valve assembly andthe tank 20', which stagnation mi ht causecontamination of the body of milk in the reservoir, a plurality ofpassages If are provided in the exterior surface of ferrule H. The lowerends of these passages communicate with ports OI, extending radiallythrough the ferrule and communicating with the slight clearance betweenthe inner surface of the ferrule and the outer surface of the tube II.This clearance communicates with the interior of tube 18 by means ofopenings 8! ln the tube. milk which might tend to collect inthe.

Thus, any crevices of the Joint. will flow downwardly through passages82, ports 83. said clearance, and o enings ll, into the filling passagewithin tube 18, and thereby will maintain all small vertically extendingparts of the joint free packing nut I! in screw-threaded engagement withthe lower end of the ferrule Ii, so as to seal the joint between thestationary ferrule andthe slidabletube It. Packing nut" is formed at itsupper end with an annular flange", which provides 'abearing surface forthevupper end of a compression spring 8!, the.lower end of which bearson the flange II and applies downward pressure on the tube 18 for apurpose to be described more in detail hereinafter.

concentrically disposedwithin the tube 10 is a vertically movable tube92, which, with the tube 18 forms an annular passage I for the flow ofmilk to the filling nozzle I1. The milk enters I this passage from'theinterior'oftank 2| through openings II in tube I0 and openings 06 intube II.

Any suitable number and arrangement of these openings may be provided.However, in the illustrated embodiment, three openings 94 are providedin tube II at approximately 120 center to center spacing, while fouropenings 85 are provided in tube 1 at 90 center to center spacing.

With this arrangement. and due to the somewhat larger circumferentialwidth'pf openings 94, itis insured that some part of the openings llalways will be in registry with some part of the angular lugs iIisecured in the upper end of the Figs.6,1l and 15).

so that when the from contamination. said clearance is too slight toproperly illustrate in the drawi gs.

Around the slidable tube suitable material. which is clamped in place bya tube II, In order to provide for withdrawal of the tube 92 from thetube 18, when the valve parts are disassembled for cleaning purposes,the

upper portion of tube 18 is provided with four slots III disposed inquadrature relationship (see engaging the interior of enlarged portion IM of the tube 82. At its lower end, rod I05 has an enlarged head I"adapted to guide the lower end of the rod in tube I2, and which head isof such diameter as to provide a slight clearance III between it andtube It. This clearance is shown as exaggerated in Fig. 3a, as theactual amount would not clearly appear in a scale drawing. A

plurality of curved cutaway portions iii are provided in head i" for thefree flow of air into the lower end of tube 92 when the' air valveisfully open, as hereinafter described. The extreme lower end of thishead is formed with a conical enlargement Ill, constituting a valve en-'gageable with the valve seat lilat the inner lower end of the tube Itto completelyshut oil the flow. of air into the air passage H3 formedbetween rod I" and the tube 82.

Adjacent to the upper end of the rod are two a enlargements or -stops HIand Ill, disposed in vertically spaced relationship and arranged forengagement with the upper and lower faces, re-

!8 and below the f.er- It of rubber or-other spectively, offan abutmentmember H8, which is in-the form of a bifurcated spring clip. This springclipextends into and is supportedby a This permits spreading apart oflugs NIL-when the tube 16 is'removed from.

pair of slots m disposed in opposite sides or the upper end portion ofstationary tube 10. These abutments are so spaced as to .form lostmotion connections between the rod and tube I and limit the range ofmovement oi-the .rod to an amount less than the range of movement ofthetubes and '02. On the extreme upper end of rod till there is slidablymounted a cylindrical aseases block I20, the weight of which is socalibrated I fample from about to about 28" oi! mercury will bemaintained in the reservoir by suitable means attached to the connection3|. Suitable means are also provided for supplying milk to the reservoirthrough the tube 24, so that under the control offloat 53 and the valve55, the level of the milk is maintained in the reservoir approximatelyat the level indicated at A on Fig. 2,

and below the, upper end of the tube 92. Nor-- permitting leakage oi airinto the bottle, the bot- [tle soon is evacuated to a predetermined.partial vacuum, as for example about 13" of mercury. The weight of therod and the weight of the block I20 on the upper end of the rod-are socalibrated in accordance with the vacuum to be maintained in thereservoir, that when, and only when, the predetermined partial vacuum isproduced in the bottle, the rod drops to its fully open position shownin Fig. 5, with the enlargement H4 resting von the abutment H6. Thisopens wide the valve opening at the lower end of air passage H3, al-

lowing free flow of air through cut-away portions H0 of valve head I01,so that the remainder of the air in the bottle is quickly withdrawn anda vacuum approximately equal tothat in the reservoir is produced in'thebottle. When substantial equalization between the pressures in thebottle and in the reservoir is produced, the tube 92 drops to theposition shown in Fig. 6, so as to thereby open wide the lower end ofmilk passage 93 and 'permit rapid filling of the bottle. 'During thisfilling operation, head I00 01' tube 92 rests'on' lugs illi so that thelower end of air passage H3 mally, when no bottle is in engagement withthe I filling valve, the parts will be in the position shown in Fig. 3and the stop H4 on the rod I05 is held in engagement with the uppersurface of abutment H8, and the rod is maintained under tension by theaction of the compression spring.

"on the flange 13. The spring 89 is of sumcient strength to hold the rod105 and the tubes II and 02 down against the action of the vacuummaintained in the interior of the reservoir and the valve casing 10.Thus the flared head ill on the rod I 05 is maintained in tightengagement with the valve seat H2 or the tube 92, and the conical flangeor valve 90 on the tube 02 is maintained, in tight engagement with valveseat 01 of nozzle 11, so as to thereby seal the milk passage 33 and theair passage H3. Hence, when the valve is not being employed for thefilling of a bottle, there is no leakage ordripping of milk from thepassage 03, and no leakage or air into passage H3, and thence into themilk reservoir.

When it is'deslred to fill a bottle with the apparatus described; abottle C is brought into position beneath the filler valve and is raisedtocause engagement of the mouth of the bottle with the filler valve.Thus a tight seal is effected between the neck of the bottle and thesealing ring 80, it

the rim of the bottle neck is, reasonably regular and has no cracks orserious breaks. Further upward movement of the bottle raises theslidable tube 16 against the downward pressure of the spring 09. Thetube 92 and the rod I05 also move upwardly due to the diilferential inpressure between the interior of the bottle, which is at atmosphericpressure, andthe evacuated interior 0! the reservoir or-tank- 20. Aftera limited and is not completely closed and any residual air in thebottle is withdrawn through the clearance aroundthe head 10]. l

The final milk level in the bottle is determined by the shape of thesealing ring 30, and the distance this ring projects into the bottlemouth, and the operation just described results in complete filling ofthe bottle to the proper level without any aeration ofthe milk. Thetiming of the movement 0! the bottles is so controlled, as will beunderstood by one skilled in the art, that when sufficient time, whichis in the order of only a few seconds, has elapsed for completion of thefilling operation, the bottle is moved downwardly and retracted fromengagement with the valve. This permits. the tube 10 to move downwardlyunder the influence of the spring 88, so that the milk-passage 93 andthe air passage H3 again are tightly closed at valve seats 91 and H2, aspreviously described, thus preventing dripping of milk from the valveand leakage of air into the reservoir.

The foregoing description of operation is based upon the assumption or abottle having no cracks or other defects which would permit leakage ofair into the bottle. If such a defective bottle is encountered, noliquid is delivered to it because when the mouth of the bottle engagesand elevates the tubes 16 and 92, the rod I05 also will be raised untila restricted opening is produced at the lower end of air passage H3, asprevlouslyflescribed, and the parts assume the positions indicated inFig. 4. A throttled amount of air then will be drawn from the bottlearound th head I01, but due to leakage of air irom the atmosphere intothe bottle, it will be impossible to produce in the bottle thepredetermined degree of partial vacuum necessary to cause rod I05 todrop to its fully predetermined upward movement or the tubes l0 and 92and the rod I05, the enlargement H5 on the rod engages the abutment H6,as indicated at the upper-part of Fig. 4. This prevents further upwardmovement orthe rod, while the two tubes continue to move upwardly aslight additional distance to effect disengagement of valve seat H2,from the valve head III on the lower end of the rod I05. This permitsair to be drawn through the restricted valve clearance I08 between thetube 92 and the head I01 into air passage H3, tending to produce avacuum in the bottle. If there are no cracks or other defects openposition shown in Fig. 5. Thus the small amount of air which will bedrawn up through passage H3 into the evacuated space over the milk inthe reservoir will be insuilicient to produce harmful effects on themilk, and loss of vacuum and overtaxing ofthe evacuating equipment willbe prevented." Also, as will be recalled from the previous description,tube 92 will not drop to open or filling position, since equalization ofpressure between the reservoir and the interior of the bottle cannot beaccomplished when a broken bottle is encountered. Hence, since the. milkpassage will remain completely closed, there will ment with thecorresponding nozzle the bottle removed and replaced be no danger of airbubblingup through and aerating the milk in passage ll. As a result oithis important feature of the invention, a detective bottle will remainunfilled and will be rejected without any necessity for observationv oraction on the part of an operator, and no harmful effects, from thestandpoint of either the evacuating equipment or the milk in the fillingapparatus, will be produced by. reason of the leakage of-air into thedefective bottle. when the predetermined time for filling has elapsed,the bottle will be lowered out of engagement with the valve and thevalve passages will be tightly closed. I

The apparatus above described may be incorporated in various diilerenttypes of filling machines and any suitable mechaniism may be providedfor effecting the relative "vertical movement or the bottle and thereservoir 20. Merely as an example, there is shown in Fig. 1 a machine,the details of the lower portion of whichconstitute no element oinovelty or portion of my invention. In the mechanism there shown thereis provided a base I30 with a platform I3I and a vertically disposed rodI32 on which is mounted the rotatable standard I33 which supports thereservoir 20, The 7 standard has any suitable means for rotating it suchas a worm wheel I34 engaging a worm I35 and also carries a spider I36 inwhich is or other container. Tube 1la is slidable in a bearing sleeveIla mounted in the lower end of housing Ill, and the sliding jointbetween thetube and the housing is sealed by a packing Ila of rubber orother suitable material, which is held in place and compressed bypacking nut l'la screw-threaded on the lower end. of housing Ill.

mounted an annular row of vertically movable plungers I31. On the upperends of these plungers are mounted bottle supports I38 verticallyslidable in the platform-BI and each provided with a bracket or othersuitable positioning means I39 for holding the bottles in place and inalignment with the filling nozzles. The plungers I31 have rollers I40which of such shape that when the roller is at the lower portion of thecam surface, the bottle on said support will be spaced below and out orengageon the reservoir. As the standard I33 rotates, the roller willtravel up the cam to lift the bottle into engagement with the nozzle asshown at the left of Fig. 1 and in Fig. 3, and then further lift it tomove the nozzle into the position shown in Fig. 4. The cam is of suchshape that when moved laterally for a, sumcient time interval to permitit to be evacuated and then filled, it will be lowered out of engagementwith the nozzle and by an empty one.

In Figs. 16- and 17 there is shown a modified form of nozzle embodyingmy invention and which travel on the upper surface of a non-rotatablecam Ill. The cam is the bottle has The inner tube 92a is guided at itsupper end by a removable, U-shaped washer Illa supported in the upperendof tube Ila, and tube lid is prevented from withdrawal from tube Ilaby engagementbi a flange or enlargement Illa with washer IIlIa. Theouter tubella is provided withan opening 95a to permit flow of milk intopassage 93a. .The valve housing Ill is intended to be mounted in suchmanner that the level of milk will not rise above the center line or thehorizontal branch of the T-shaped housing Ill under any conditions ofvacuum in the reservoir, and the evacuated space above the milk in thereservoir is in communication with air passage 3a through the top oftube 92a.

The upper end 01' housing- Ill is closed by an abutment disc Illa, heldin place'by a flange Ill, which is clamped by anut Ill. Flange Ill iswelded or otherwise secured on the lower end of a housing I53 whichserves to enclose a spring Ill tor pressing the rod Illa downwardly. Therod Illa has stops or abutments II la and Illa on opposite sides of theabutment disc Illa so as to provide lost motion connections and to limitthe range of movementof the rod Illa. Under normal conditions, when nobottle is being filled, the

- slisht distance. This cracked so ed opening between the lower ends ofrod Illa may be used with the reservoir shown in Figs. 1

and '2 by proper modification oi the reservoir so that the nozzlesconnect to the peripheral wall of the reservoir instead of to the bottomthereof. This modiflednozzle includes in general a stationary T-shapedhousing Ill which may be welded or otherwise secured to the side wall ofthe reservoir 2IJ. Within the vertical section or this housing are anouter slidable tube Ila, an inner slidable tube 92a. and a rod Illa. Thetubes Ila and 92a and the rod Illa correspond fundamentallyrespectively, of the previously described embodiment. They have the sametype of valve mechato the tubes ll and 82 and'the rod Ill,

nism and normally are pressed downwardly to their lowermost positions bymeans or compression spring 89a. When the tubes and rod are in to thestructure of stop' II4a adjacent the upper end of rod Illa rests on theupper end of disc Illa and the rod Illa is maintained under tension byspring "at.

, When a bottle is placed on an elevatable platform, such as theplatform referred to in the previous description, and the platform israised, the neck of the bottle engages sealing ring lla and raises theouter tube Ila. Tube In and rod Illa also move upwardly due to thevacuum in the reservoir, so that the lower ends of milk passage 93a andair passage Illa are maintained tightly closed. When stop I Ila on therod I Ila hits abutment I Ila, the rod stops its upward movement whiletubes Ida and 92a continue upwardly a has the effect of producing arestricted passage at the lower end or air passage IIla. If the bottleshould happen to be that air may enter into it, the restrictand tube 92aprevents-tree rush of air into the valve body and reservoir, and thusprevents contamination of the milk in the reservoir and overtaxing ofthe evacuating eduipment, in the manner described in bodiment. 1

On the other hand, it the bottle is sound, a vacuum is drawn therein,and when this vacuum reaches a predetermined degree, as for example 13'inches of mercury, rod Illa drops due to its own weight and thepredetermined calibration of spring Ill. With the rod in its lowermostposition, completion of the evacuation of the bottle quickly takes placeas in Fig. 5. As soonas the pressures in the bottle, the valve body andthe reservoir are substantially equalized, tube Ila drops to itsposition shown in Fig. 6, thereby opening the outer milk passage 33c soas to eflect rapid filling of the bottle.

A further modification, which may be applied Fig. 16, is illustrated inFig. 18." In this latter embodiment, the upper end or housing Illb isclosed only by arfiexible rubber.

connection with the previous em- I v said: or diaphragm I55, so that rod5a is pressed downwardly by its own weight plus the action ofatmospheric pressureon the upper 'end of the rod. The area of the upperend I Mb oi the rod is made such that a predetermined the container fromsaid nozzle for closing both said passages.

5. In an apparatus for filling a container with I a liquid,-thecombination of a filling nozzle havdownward. pressureis exerted on therod, which pressure, in combination with the weight of therod, is suchas to effect dropplng'oi the rod to the position indicated inFig. 5,only when thepredetermined partial vacuum such as, for example,

13 inches of mercury; is produced in the bottle.

Various other modificationsmay be readily devised within the scope of myinvention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure' by Letters Patent is:

1. In an apparatus for, filling a container with liquid, a fillingnozzle'having a vacuum passage and a liquid passage, a pair of valvesfor closin said passages, means operated by a movement of said nozzlewith the container for partially opening the valve of said vacuumpassage, and means operative I responsively to the .development of apredetermined degree o'i. vacuum in said container foriurther openingsaid last mentioned valve and for opening the other of said valves topermit flow of liquid.

2. In an apparatus for filling a container with a liquid, thecombination of a filling nozzle havin passages for communication. withthe interior of the container, valve mechanism tor controlling saidpassages, means for applying a vacuum to one of said passages, means forsupplying liquid to the other of said passages, positively operatingmeans for operating said valve mechanism. to partially open thevacuumpassage upon a predetermined relative movement 01 said nozzle and ingaliquid passage and a vacuum passage for communication with the interiorof the container, a valve for said vacuum passage, a separate valve forsaid liquid passage, means operative by bodily movement of said nozzlewith said container for partially opening said first mentioned v valve,means operative automatically upon a predetermined drop in pressure inthe container for further opening said first mentioned valve, meansautomatically operative upon a further drop in pressure in saidcontainer for opening the second mentioned valve, and means operative byremoval of the container from said nozzle for closing both said valves.

said container, and means automatically operative upon a predetermineddrop in pressure in said container tor operating said valve mecha-- nismto open said vacuum passage to a further extent and to thereafter openthe liquid passage as the vacuum in said container progressively in- 7creases.

3. In an apparatus i'orfilling a container with a liquid, thecombination of a filling nozzle having passages for communication'with'the interior or v the container, means for applying a vacuum to one ofsaid passages, means for supplying liquid to the other 01 said passages,positively operating means for partially opening the vacuum passage upona predetermined movement of, said passages with said container, andmeans auto matically operative upon decrease in pressure in thecontainer for opening said vacuum passage to a turther extent andthereafter opening th liquid passage. I

4. In an apparatus for filling a container with a liquid, thecombination of a filling nozzle having a vacuum passage and a liquidsupply passage for communication with the interior of the container,valve mechanism for controlling flow of fluid in said passages, meansmechanically operable for eflecting operation of said valve mechanism topartially open the vacuum passage,

means operative responsively to a predetermined drop in pressure in thecontainer for further opening said vacuum passage, means operativeresponsively to a predetermined and greater drop in pressure in thecontainer". for further operating said valve mechanism to open theliquid passage and partially close the vacuum passage, and

means operative automatically upon removal or,

6. In an apparatus for filling a container with a liquid, thecombination of a filling nozzle having. a pair of passages forcommunication with the interior of the container, valve mechanism forcontrolling said passages, means for applying a vacuum to one of saidpassages, means for supplyin' liquid to the other of said passages,means operative by relative bodily movement of said nozzle and saidcontainer for operating said valve mechanism to partially open thevacuum passage,

a weight operating said valve mechanism to further open said vacuumpassage when the pressure in the container drops below a predeterminedlimit, a separate weight for operating said valve mechanism to open theliquid passage when the pressure in said container drops below a lowerpredetermined limit, and means operative automatically upon removal ofsaid container from said nozzle for operating said valve mechanism toclose both said passages.

7. In an apparatus fqr filling a container with a liquid, thecombination of a filling nozzle having sealing means for engaging theinlet of the con tainer and having passages for communication with theinterior of the container, valve mechanism for controlling saidpassages, means for applying a vacuum to one of said passages, means forsupplying liquid to the other or said passages, means operative bybodily movement of said nozzle with said container for operating saidvalve mechanism to partially open the vacuum passage,

means for automatically opening said vacuum passage to a turtherextentwhen air has been withdrawn from the container to a predeterminedextent, means i'or opening the liquid passage when the pressure in thecontainer has been lowmeans operative container from valve mechanismered to a further extent, an upon disengagement of said said nozzle foroperatingv said to close both said passages.

8. A nozzle for filling containers with liquid including a pairotconcentric vertically movable tubes, a vertically movable rod withinthe inner tube and having a range of vertical movement less than that ofsaid tubes, valve mechanism for said tubes, and means for 1oper-.

mechanism to open the lower tube when said inner tube is beyond thelimit of-upward to the outer tube, a pair of valves at the lower end ofsaid nozzle for closing said tubes, positively operating means forpartially opening the valve of said vacuum tube by an upward movement ofsaid nozzle and the container, means for auto-' matically furtheropening said last mentioned valve and thereafter opening the valve of"the liquid tube when the vacuum obtained in said container has reached apredetermined limit, and r means operable upon the removal or thecontainerirom said nozzle fort-closing both of said valves.

10. An apparatus for filling containers with liquid, including areservoir for the liquid, means for maintaining said reservoir underpartial vacuum, means for maintaining a substantially constant liquidlevel in.said reservoir, 9. pair of concentric vertically movable tubes,the inner tube communicating with said reservoir above said liquid leveland the outer tube communicating with the reservoir below said liquidlevel, a vertically movable rod within the inner tube] means forlimiting the range of movement of said rod to an amount less than therange of movement of said tubes, valve mechanism for closing 2 or oneofsaid tubes, means for supplying liquid to the other of said tubes, apair of valves at the lower end of said nozzle for closing said' tubes;

1 valve when the pressure in the tube, a valve on the lower end or theinner tube for closing the lower end of the outer tube, said inner tubeand said rod being automatically raised due to diiierences in pressurein the reserveiland the container during mechanical raising of the outertube, said first mentioned valve being mechanically opened upon thevertical movement oi. the two tubes beyond the range of movement of therod, and said inner tube automatically dropping by gravity to open thesecond mentioned container has dropped to a predetermined limit.

\1-1. An apparatus for filling containers with liquid including a pairor concentric vertically movable tubes, the inner tube communicatingwith a source oi vacuum and the outer tube communicating with a sourceof liquid, a vertically movable rod within the inner tube, the range ofmovement of said tubes being greater than that of said rod, a valveonthe lower end of said rod for closing the lower end of the inner tube, avalve on the lower end of the inner tube for closing the lower end ofthe outer tube, and a weight having lost motion connection with saidrod, said first mentioned valve being opened upon the vertical movementof said tubes beyond the limit of I movement of said rod, said weightserving to 3 a, pair 0! tubes,

means operated by an upward movement 01 said 0 nozzle and the containerfor partially opening the valve of said vacuum tube, said last mentionedvalve being automatically opened to a further extent when apredetermined vacuum is move said rod to its lower limiting positionupon a predetermined drop in th pressure in the container, and saidinner tube being free to drop by gravity and open said secondmentionedvalve when the pressure in the container, due to the escape of airfromthe latter through said inner tube, reaches a lower predeterminedlimit.

15. A nozzle for filling containers with liquid including a pair ofconcentric vertically movable tubes, the inner tube for application of avacuum to the container and the outer tubei'or the supply of liquid tothe container, a vertically movable rod within the inner tube, therangeof vertical movement of said tubes being greater than that of said' rod,a valve on the lower end of said obtained in said container, and theother of said valves being automatically opened to permit inflow ofliquid when a higher predetermined vacuum is obtained in said container,and means for closing both or said valves upon a downward movement ofsaid nozzle and, said container.

12. In an apparatus for filling a container with liquid, a fillingnozzle having a pair 01 concentric matically dropping by gravity to openthe second tubes, meansfor applying a vacuum tothe upper end ot theinner one of said tubes, means for of concentric valves at thelower endor said noz-- zle for closing said tubes, positive means for partiallyopening the valve of said vacuum tube upon an upward movement or saidtubes, said valve supplying liquid to the outer or said tubes, a pairbeing automatically opened to a further extent when a predeterminedvacuum is obtained in said container, the other or said valvesbeingautomatically opened to permit inflow oi. liquid and said firstmentioned valve being partially closed when a higher predeterminedvacuum is obtained 5 in said container, and neans for closing both ofsaid valves by a downward movement oi said nozzle and said container.

13. An apparatus for filling containers with rod for closing the lowerend or the inner'tube, a valve on the lower end of the inner tube forclosing the lower end or the outer tube, the outer tube upon beingraised, permitting raising of said inner tube and said rod, said firstmentioned valve being mechanically opened upon the vertical movement ofthe two tubes beyond the range of movement 01' the rod, and said innertube auto mentioned valvewhen the pressure in the container has droppedto a predetermined limit.

16. An apparatus for filling containers with liquid including a pair ofvertically movable tubes, one tube communicating with a source or vacuumand the other tube communicating with a source of liquid, averticallymovable rod, the range of movement of said tubes being greater than thatof said rod,'a valve on the lower end of said rod for closing the lowerend of the first mentioned tube and a valve on the lower endo! raidfirst mentioned tube for closing the lower end of the second mentionedtube, said first mentioned valve being opened upon the vertical movement01 said tubes beyond the limit or movement of said rod, and said firstmentioned tube being free to drop by gravity and open said secondmenliquid from a reservoir under vacuum, including l 'a pair ofconcentric vertically movable tubes, a

vertically movable, rod within the inner tube, the range of movement orsaid tubes being greater than that or snid -rod, a valve on the lowerend oi said rod for closing the lower end of the inner 76 tioned valvewhen the vacuum in the container. due to the escape of air from thelatter through said. first mentioned tube, reaches a predeterminedlimit.

, 17. An apparatuslfor filling containers with liquid including a pairof concentric, vertically .rnovable tubes, the inner tube communicatingmovement of said tubes being greater than that of said rod, a valve'onthe lower end of said rod for closing the lower end of the inner tube,and a valve on the lower end of theinner tube for v closing the lowerend of the outer tube, said first mentioned valve being positivelyopened upon the vertical movement of said tubes beyond the limit iii ofmovement of said rod and 'said inner tube being free to drop by. gravityand open said second mentioned valve when'the vacuum in the container,due to the escape of air from the latter through said inner tube,reaches a predetermined 5 limit.

18. A nozzle for container filling apparatus including a pair ofconcentric vertically movable tubes, the inner tube affording anevacuating passage and the outer tube affording a passage for the liquidto be delivered to the container, a valve at the lower end of the innertube and having seating engagement with the lower end of the outer tube,a vertically movable rod within the inner tube and having a valve at itslower end for seating engagement with the lower end of the inner tube,lost motion connections for limiting the movement of said rod to a rangeless'than that of said tubes, means on said nozzle for closureengagement with the inlet of a container to be filled whereby uponupward movement of said containensaid tubes and rods are simulta neouslylifted, with both of said valves in closed position, until said lostmotion connectionslimit the upward movement of said rod and said tubesare lifted to a further extent to thereby partially open said secondmentioned valve, said rod being free to drop and further open saidsecond men-- tioned valve when the vacuum in the container reaches apredetermined limit and said inner tube 0 being free to drop and therebyopen the first mentioned valve when the vacuum in the container reachesa lower predetermined limit.

19. A nozzle ,for container filling apparatus including a pair ofconcentric vertically movable tubes, the inner tube affording anevacuatingpassageand the outer tube aflording a passage for a liquidsupply, a valve at the lower end of the inner tube and having seatingengagement with the lower end of the outer tube, a vertically movablerod within the inner tube and having a valve at its lower end forseating engagement with the lower end of the inner tube, means forlimiting the range of movement of said rod to e a lesser range than thatof said tubes, means on 5 said nozzle for engagement with the mouth of acontainer and whereby upon upward movement of saidcontainer, said tubesand rods are simul- 1 taneously lifted -to the same extent with saidvalves in'closed position, until the limit of up 0 ward movement of saidrod is reached and upon further upward movement of said tubes, saidsecond mentioned. valve is partially opened and said rod dropping bygravity to its lower limiting position when .the vacuum in the containerreaches a predetermined limit and the inner tube dropping by gravity andopening the first mentioned valve when the vacuum in the containerreaches a lower predetermined limit.

20. An apparatus for filling containers with liquid, including areservoirfor the liquid andprovided with connections for deliveringliquid to said reservoirand for maintaining said reservoir;

under partial vacuum, means for controlling the delivery of liquid tosaid reservoir to maintain a, substantially constant level therein, apair of concentric vertically movable tubes, the inner tubecommunicating with said reservoir abovesaid liquid level and the outertube communicating with the reservoir below said liquid level, avertically movable rod within the inner tube and having lost motionconnections with a wall of said reservoir, and valve mechanism forclosing the lower ends of both of said tubes, said valve mechanismoperating to open the lower end of the inner tube when said inner tubeis moved upwardly beyond the limit of upward movement of said rod, andoperating to open the lower end of the outer tube when, asufficientvacuum has been createdin the container to permit the innertube to drop by gravity.

21. A nozzle for use in an apparatus for evacuatinga container anddelivering liquid thereto, said nozzle being removably engageable withsaid container and having a passage for the withdrawal of air from suchcontainer, a passage for delivery of liquid to said container, and meansoperative dependently upon the pressure in such container, when thelatter is in engagement with said nozzle, for automatically opening saidliquid delivery passage when, and only when, a predetermined vacuum isproduced in the container. 22. A nozzle for use in an-apparatus forevacuating a container and delivering liquid thereto, said nozzlebeingremovably engageable with said container and having'a normally closedevacuating passage and a normally closed liquid delivery passage, meansoperable to effect opening of said i evacuating passage so as to permitwithdrawal of air from a container engaged with said nozzle, and meansoperative dependently upon the pressure in such container forautomatically opening said liquid delivery passage when, and only'when,a predetermined vacuum is produced in the container.

23. A nozzle for use in an apparatus for evacuating a container anddelivering liquid thereto, said nozzle being removably engageable withsaid container and having a normally closed evacuat ing passage and anormally closed liquid delivery passage, means operable toeifect-partialopening of said evacuating passage .upon pressureengagement with" said nozzle, and means operated d8 pendently upon theresulting drop in pressure in such container for effecting furtheropening of said evacuating passage, and thereafter automatically openingsaid liquid delivery passage upon production of a predetermined vacuumin the container. 24. Anozzle for use in an apparatus for evacuating acontainer and delivering liquid thereto, said nozzle being re'movablyengageable with a container to be filled and having an evacuatingpassage and a liquid delivery passage, valves nor-' mally closing saidpassages, means operable to effect partial opening of the evacuatingpassage valve so as to permit withdrawal of air from a container engagedwith said nozzle, and means operative automatically in response toproduction of predetermined degrees of vacuum in such container foreflectingfurther opening of said I v evacuating passage valve andthereinafter eifecting opening of the other of said valves to permitflow of'liquid to the container through said liquid delivery passage.

- BRUCE ms HAVEN mum.

